Planning board cancels meetings

Sparse agenda items have prompted the Mt. Pleasant Planning Commission to cancel two of its last three meetings.

Sparse agenda items have prompted the Mt. Pleasant Planning Commission to cancel two of its last three meetings.

Scotty Moore, Mt. Pleasant interim planning and zoning director, said in an email Monday that September’s meeting slated for Tuesday was canceled “due to nothing on the agenda.”

July’s meeting was also canceled, and the August agenda contained two items — discussing continuing education programs and replacing outgoing planning commission member Randall Sprouse.

Planning commission members are not paid. The board executes the growth plan for the area surrounding the city limits, according to the town’s website.

In March, the planning commission passed a revised version of the city’s sign ordinance — a move that took more than a year to complete. The board also updated and approved a new fence ordinance in May.

Ed Brennan, who was appointed to the planning commission in May, said there is little development happening in the city. Brennan said he has only voted on joining two land plats since his appointment.

“There’s all these things — old regulations and old ordinances — that we keep talking about — the one time we did have a meeting — that we need to go over and work on, but we are not having any meetings,” Brennan said.

Brennan said he would like to see the board address downtown traffic concerns and parking issues around the square. He encouraged more residents to attend city meetings because there are not enough people voicing their opinions.

Michael Warren, MPPC vice chairman, said little development and fewer building permit requests are contributing to fewer meetings.

“Here lately about all the planning commission has been doing is revamping our ordinances and trying to bring them up to date, which is a very time-consuming process,” Warren said. “It’s been very slow here. Summer is winding down, and hopefully in the fall, things might start to get a little better.”

Mt. Pleasant City Manager Michelle Williams said agenda items fluctuate, and the lack of meetings is part of the cycle.

“It’s just been a slow couple of months for the planning commission,” Williams said. “If they don’t have anything to discuss, there’s no sense in calling them together.”

The planning commission will examine the town’s zoning ordinances in the next couple months and take action on a proposed downtown development plan.

In March, the board received an $82,000 price tag for creating the plan from Ohio-based landscaping, engineering and planning firm E.G.&G. Inc. The Mt. Pleasant City Commission must vote on the plan’s guidelines before the measure moves forward, Williams said.

The city commissioners will discuss the development guidelines at 5 p.m. Thursday during a study session. That board will vote on the item at 7 p.m. Tuesday. Both meetings will be held at City Hall.

The planning commission will meet more frequently in the coming months, and business will pick back up “for sure,” Williams said.